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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares have advanced in Asia after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to its best day since 1933 as Congress and the White House neared a deal on Tuesday to inject nearly $2 trillion of aid into an economy ravaged by the coronavirus. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 5.3% and Hong Kong jumped 3%. The Dow burst 11.4% higher, while the more closely followed S&P 500 index leaped 9.4% as a wave of buying around the world interrupted what has been a brutal month of nearly nonstop selling. Despite the gains, investors were far from saying markets have hit bottom. Rallies nearly as big as this have punctuated the last few weeks, and none lasted more than a day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve says it will suspend some of its bank supervisory activities to give banks more leeway in dealing with financially strapped customers. The Fed said Tuesday that it will cease all examinations for banks with less than $100 billion in total assets. For larger banks above that threshold, the Fed will postpone most of its examinations, based on how burdensome the scrutiny would be for each bank. The Fed is encouraging banks to work with borrowers who are unable to pay all their debts because of the coronavirus, which has crippled the economy and caused potentially millions of layoffs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic. He said Tuesday the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be two to three weeks away from a crisis that sees 40,000 people in intensive care. Such a surge would swamp hospitals, which now have just 3,000 intensive care unit beds in the entire state. Cuomo said the rate of new infections is doubling about every three days. Johns Hopkins University data shows there have been more than 23,000 positive cases in New York state.
UNDATED (AP) — South Korea reported 100 more cases of the new coronavirus over the past 24 hours, raising the country's total to 9,137. The 100 additional cases were up from 76 reported a day earlier. But they still show a continued slowdown of virus cases in South Korea, compared with late last month when a daily jump of new cases once recorded more than 900. The state-run Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that 34 of the 100 cases were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area. It says nationwide fatalities from the virus increased to 126, up from 120 on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe so too do the crimes related to it. The crimes capitalize on fear, panic and the urge to lay blame, and add to the burden on law enforcement. Hundreds of surgical masks were stolen in Portland, Oregon, amid shortages for health care workers. Hate groups are encouraging sick members to infect police officers and Jews. Imposters have posed as public health officials. And con artists peddle fake cures and financial scams. The Justice Department says people who threaten to spread the new coronavirus could be charged under U.S. terrorism statutes because officials consider it a “biological agent” under the law.
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